Commit Message

This commit introduces the support for the EABIhf ABI, next to the
existing support we have for EABI and OABI (even though OABI support
is deprecated). EABIhf allows to improve performance of floating point
workload by using floating point registers to transfer floating point
arguments when calling functions, instead of using integer registers
to do, as is done in the 'softfp' floating point model of EABI.
In addition to this, this commit introduces a list of options for the
floating point support:
* Software floating point
* VFP
* VFPv3
* VFPv3-D16
* VFPv4
* VFPv4-D16
and it introduces some logic to make sure the options are only visible
when it makes sense, depending on the ARM core being selected. This is
however made complicated by the fact that certain VFP capabilities are
mandatory on some cores, but optional on some other cores. The kconfig
logic tries to achieve the following goals:
* Hide options that are definitely not possible.
* Use safe default values (i.e for Cortex-A5 and A7, the presence of
the VFPv4 unit is optional, so we default on software floating
point on these cores)..
* Show the available possibilities, even if some of them are not
necessarily working on a particular core (again, for the Cortex-A5
and A7 cores, there is no way of knowing whether the particular
variant used by the user has VFPv4 or not, so we select software
floating point by default, but still show VFP/VFPv3/VFPv4 options).
It is worth noting that this commit doesn't add support for all
possible -mfpu= values on ARM. We haven't added support for fpa, fpe2,
fpe3, maverick (those four are only used on very old ARM cores), for
vfpv3-fp16, vfpv3-d16-fp16, vfpv3xd, vfpv3xd-fp16, neon-fp16,
vfpv4-sp-d16. They can be added quite easily if needed thanks to the
new organization of the Config.in options.
Signed-off-by: Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com>
---
arch/Config.in.arm | 231 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----
package/Makefile.in | 6 ++
2 files changed, 219 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)

Comments

>>>>> "Thomas" == Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com> writes:
Thomas> This commit introduces the support for the EABIhf ABI, next to the
Thomas> existing support we have for EABI and OABI (even though OABI support
Thomas> is deprecated). EABIhf allows to improve performance of floating point
Thomas> workload by using floating point registers to transfer floating point
Thomas> arguments when calling functions, instead of using integer registers
Thomas> to do, as is done in the 'softfp' floating point model of EABI.
Thomas> In addition to this, this commit introduces a list of options for the
Thomas> floating point support:
Thomas> * Software floating point
Thomas> * VFP
Thomas> * VFPv3
Thomas> * VFPv3-D16
Thomas> * VFPv4
Thomas> * VFPv4-D16
Thomas> and it introduces some logic to make sure the options are only visible
Thomas> when it makes sense, depending on the ARM core being selected. This is
Thomas> however made complicated by the fact that certain VFP capabilities are
Thomas> mandatory on some cores, but optional on some other cores. The kconfig
Thomas> logic tries to achieve the following goals:
Thomas> * Hide options that are definitely not possible.
Thomas> * Use safe default values (i.e for Cortex-A5 and A7, the presence of
Thomas> the VFPv4 unit is optional, so we default on software floating
Thomas> point on these cores)..
Thomas> * Show the available possibilities, even if some of them are not
Thomas> necessarily working on a particular core (again, for the Cortex-A5
Thomas> and A7 cores, there is no way of knowing whether the particular
Thomas> variant used by the user has VFPv4 or not, so we select software
Thomas> floating point by default, but still show VFP/VFPv3/VFPv4 options).
Thomas> It is worth noting that this commit doesn't add support for all
Thomas> possible -mfpu= values on ARM. We haven't added support for fpa, fpe2,
Thomas> fpe3, maverick (those four are only used on very old ARM cores), for
Thomas> vfpv3-fp16, vfpv3-d16-fp16, vfpv3xd, vfpv3xd-fp16, neon-fp16,
Thomas> vfpv4-sp-d16. They can be added quite easily if needed thanks to the
Thomas> new organization of the Config.in options.
Thomas> Signed-off-by: Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@free-electrons.com>
Thomas> config BR2_cortex_a15
Thomas> bool "cortex-A15"
Thomas> select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_NEON
Thomas> + select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV4
Thomas> config BR2_fa526
Thomas> bool "fa526/626"
Thomas> config BR2_pj4
Thomas> bool "pj4"
Thomas> + select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV3
Thomas> config BR2_strongarm
Thomas> bool "strongarm sa110/sa1100"
Thomas> config BR2_xscale
Thomas> @@ -67,34 +101,67 @@ config BR2_arm1136jf_s
Thomas> choice
Thomas> prompt "Target ABI"
Thomas> depends on BR2_arm || BR2_armeb
Thomas> - depends on BR2_DEPRECATED
Thomas> default BR2_ARM_EABI
Looks good. You could argue that we should do:
default BR2_ARM_EABIHF
instead (E.G. default to eabihf if available, otherwise fall back to
eabi), but with all the optional vfp units it's perhaps better to play
it safe..

Dear Peter Korsgaard,
On Sun, 07 Jul 2013 22:44:08 +0200, Peter Korsgaard wrote:
> Looks good. You could argue that we should do:> > default BR2_ARM_EABIHF> > instead (E.G. default to eabihf if available, otherwise fall back to> eabi), but with all the optional vfp units it's perhaps better to play> it safe..
Yeah, I thought that defaulting on eabihf today (for ARMv7) was a bit
too much. I played conservative, and remained on eabi by default.
Best regards,
Thomas

diff --git a/arch/Config.in.arm b/arch/Config.in.armindex a0c7228..785462b 100644--- a/arch/Config.in.arm+++ b/arch/Config.in.arm@@ -6,6 +6,31 @@ config BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_NEON
config BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_NEON
bool
+# for some cores, VFPv2 is optional+config BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV2+ bool++config BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV2+ bool++# for some cores, VFPv3 is optional+config BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV3+ bool+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV2++config BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV3+ bool+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV2++# for some cores, VFPv4 is optional+config BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV4+ bool+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV3++config BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV4+ bool+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV3+
choice
prompt "Target Architecture Variant"
depends on BR2_arm || BR2_armeb
@@ -27,31 +52,40 @@ config BR2_arm10t
bool "arm10t"
config BR2_arm1136jf_s_r0
bool "arm1136jf_s rev0"
+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV2
config BR2_arm1136jf_s_r1
bool "arm1136jf_s rev1"
+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV2
config BR2_arm1176jz_s
bool "arm1176jz-s"
config BR2_arm1176jzf_s
bool "arm1176jzf-s"
+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV2
config BR2_cortex_a5
bool "cortex-A5"
select BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_NEON
+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV4
config BR2_cortex_a7
bool "cortex-A7"
select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_NEON
+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV4
config BR2_cortex_a8
bool "cortex-A8"
select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_NEON
+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV3
config BR2_cortex_a9
bool "cortex-A9"
select BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_NEON
+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV3
config BR2_cortex_a15
bool "cortex-A15"
select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_NEON
+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV4
config BR2_fa526
bool "fa526/626"
config BR2_pj4
bool "pj4"
+ select BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV3
config BR2_strongarm
bool "strongarm sa110/sa1100"
config BR2_xscale
@@ -67,34 +101,67 @@ config BR2_arm1136jf_s
choice
prompt "Target ABI"
depends on BR2_arm || BR2_armeb
- depends on BR2_DEPRECATED
default BR2_ARM_EABI
help
- Application Binary Interface to use+ Application Binary Interface to use. The Application Binary+ Interface describes the calling conventions (how arguments+ are passed to functions, how the return value is passed, how+ system calls are made, etc.).
Note:
Using OABI is discouraged.
-config BR2_ARM_EABI_CHOICE+config BR2_ARM_EABI
bool "EABI"
-config BR2_ARM_OABI- bool "OABI"- depends on !BR2_GCC_VERSION_4_7_X-endchoice+ help+ The EABI is currently the standard ARM ABI, which is used in+ most projects. It supports both the 'soft' floating point+ model (in which floating point instructions are emulated in+ software) and the 'softfp' floating point model (in which+ floating point instructions are executed using an hardware+ floating point unit, but floating point arguments to+ functions are passed in integer registers).-config BR2_ARM_EABI- def_bool y- depends on !BR2_ARM_OABI+ The 'softfp' floating point model is link-compatible with+ the 'soft' floating point model, i.e you can link a library+ built 'soft' with some other code built 'softfp'.-config BR2_ARM_SOFT_FLOAT- bool "Use soft-float"- default y- select BR2_SOFT_FLOAT+ However, passing the floating point arguments in integer+ registers is a bit inefficient, so if your ARM processor has+ a floating point unit, and you don't have pre-compiled+ 'soft' or 'softfp' code, using the EABIhf ABI will provide+ better floating point performances.++ If your processor does not have a floating point unit, then+ you must use this ABI.++config BR2_ARM_EABIHF+ bool "EABIhf"+ depends on BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV2 || BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV2
help
- If your target CPU does not have a Floating Point Unit (FPU)- or a kernel FPU emulator, but you still wish to support- floating point functions, then everything will need to be- compiled with soft floating point support (-msoft-float).+ The EABIhf is an extension of EABI which supports the 'hard'+ floating point model. This model uses the floating point+ unit to execute floating point instructions, and passes+ floating point arguments in floating point registers.++ It is more efficient than EABI for floating point related+ workload. However, it does not allow to link against code+ that has been pre-built for the 'soft' or 'softfp' floating+ point models.++ If your processor has a floating point unit, and you don't+ depend on existing pre-compiled code, this option is most+ likely the best choice.++config BR2_ARM_OABI+ bool "OABI"+ depends on BR2_DEPRECATED+ help+ The OABI is a deprecated ABI that Linux was using before ARM+ standardized the EABI. It should no longer be used for new+ projects.++endchoice
config BR2_ARM_ENABLE_NEON
bool "Enable NEON SIMD extension support"
@@ -105,6 +172,120 @@ config BR2_ARM_ENABLE_NEON
Select this option if you are certain your particular
implementation has NEON support and you want to use it.
+choice+ prompt "Floating point strategy"+ depends on BR2_ARM_EABI || BR2_ARM_EABIHF+ default BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV4D16 if BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV4+ default BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV3D16 if BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV3+ default BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV2 if BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV2+ default BR2_ARM_SOFT_FLOAT if !BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV2++config BR2_ARM_SOFT_FLOAT+ bool "Soft float"+ depends on BR2_ARM_EABI+ select BR2_SOFT_FLOAT+ help+ This option allows to use software emulated floating+ point. It should be used for ARM cores that do not include a+ Vector Floating Point unit, such as ARMv5 cores (ARM926 for+ example) or certain ARMv6 cores.++config BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV2+ bool "VFPv2"+ depends on BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV2 || BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV2+ help+ This option allows to use the VFPv2 floating point unit, as+ available in some ARMv6 processors (ARM1136JF-S,+ ARM1176JZF-S and ARM11 MPCore).++ Note that this option is also safe to use for newer cores+ such as Cortex-A, because the VFPv3 and VFPv4 units are+ backward compatible with VFPv2.++config BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV3+ bool "VFPv3"+ depends on BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV3 || BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV3+ help+ This option allows to use the VFPv3 floating point unit, as+ available in some ARMv7 processors (Cortex-A{8, 9}). This+ option requires a VFPv3 unit that has 32 double-precision+ registers, which is not necessarily the case in all SOCs+ based on Cortex-A{8, 9}. If you're unsure, use VFPv3-D16+ instead, which is guaranteed to work on all Cortex-A{8, 9}.++ Note that this option is also safe to use for newer cores+ that have a VFPv4 unit, because VFPv4 is backward compatible+ with VFPv3. They must of course also have 32+ double-precision registers.++config BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV3D16+ bool "VFPv3-D16"+ depends on BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV3 || BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV3+ help+ This option allows to use the VFPv3 floating point unit, as+ available in some ARMv7 processors (Cortex-A{8, 9}). This+ option requires a VFPv3 unit that has 16 double-precision+ registers, which is generally the case in all SOCs based on+ Cortex-A{8, 9}, even though VFPv3 is technically optional on+ Cortex-A9. This is the safest option for those cores.++ Note that this option is also safe to use for newer cores+ such that have a VFPv4 unit, because the VFPv4 is backward+ compatible with VFPv3.++config BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV4+ bool "VFPv4"+ depends on BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV4 || BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV4+ help+ This option allows to use the VFPv4 floating point unit, as+ available in some ARMv7 processors (Cortex-A{5, 7, 12,+ 15}). This option requires a VFPv4 unit that has 32+ double-precision registers, which is not necessarily the+ case in all SOCs based on Cortex-A{5, 7, 12, 15}. If you're+ unsure, you should probably use VFPv4-D16 instead.++ Note that if you want binary code that works on all ARMv7+ cores, including the earlier Cortex-A{8, 9}, you should+ instead select VFPv3.++config BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV4D16+ bool "VFPv4-D16"+ depends on BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV4 || BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV4+ help+ This option allows to use the VFPv4 floating point unit, as+ available in some ARMv7 processors (Cortex-A{5, 7, 12,+ 15}). This option requires a VFPv4 unit that has 16+ double-precision registers, which is always available on+ Cortex-A12 and Cortex-A15, but optional on Cortex-A5 and+ Cortex-A7.++ Note that if you want binary code that works on all ARMv7+ cores, including the earlier Cortex-A{8, 9}, you should+ instead select VFPv3-D16.++config BR2_ARM_FPU_NEON+ bool "NEON"+ depends on BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_NEON+ help+ This option allows to use the NEON SIMD unit, as available+ in some ARMv7 processors, as a floating-point unit. It+ should however be noted that using NEON for floating point+ operations doesn't provide a complete compatibility with the+ IEEE 754.++config BR2_ARM_FPU_NEON_VFPV4+ bool "NEON/VFPv4"+ depends on BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_VFPV4 || BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_VFPV4+ depends on BR2_ARM_CPU_HAS_NEON+ help+ This option allows to use both the VFPv4 and the NEON SIMD+ units for floating point operations. Note that some ARMv7+ cores do not necessarily have VFPv4 and/or NEON support, for+ example on Cortex-A5 and Cortex-A7, support for VFPv4 and+ NEON is optional.++endchoice+
config BR2_ARCH
default "arm" if BR2_arm
default "armeb" if BR2_armeb
@@ -161,3 +342,17 @@ config BR2_GCC_TARGET_ARCH
config BR2_GCC_TARGET_ABI
default "apcs-gnu" if BR2_ARM_OABI
default "aapcs-linux" if BR2_ARM_EABI
++config BR2_GCC_TARGET_FPU+ default "vfp" if BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV2+ default "vfpv3" if BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV3+ default "vfpv3-d16" if BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV3D16+ default "vfpv4" if BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV4+ default "vfpv4-d16" if BR2_ARM_FPU_VFPV4D16+ default "neon" if BR2_ARM_FPU_NEON+ default "neon-vfpv4" if BR2_ARM_FPU_NEON_VFPV4++config BR2_GCC_TARGET_FLOAT_ABI+ default "soft" if BR2_ARM_SOFT_FLOAT+ default "softfp" if !BR2_ARM_SOFT_FLOAT && BR2_ARM_EABI+ default "hard" if !BR2_ARM_SOFT_FLOAT && BR2_ARM_EABIHFdiff --git a/package/Makefile.in b/package/Makefile.inindex 405b3e4..f570d67 100644--- a/package/Makefile.in+++ b/package/Makefile.in@@ -40,6 +40,12 @@ ABI=gnueabi
else
ABI=eabi
endif
+else ifeq ($(BR2_ARM_EABIHF),y)+ifeq ($(LIBC),uclibc)+ABI=gnueabihf+else+ABI=eabihf+endif
endif
# For FSL PowerPC there's SPE